1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for filling a container with radioactive wastes, particularly, miscellaneous incombustible solid wastes, arising from atomic power plants or other establishments for handling radioactive materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since in such radioactive wastes, the radioactive rays emitted therefrom exert a great influence upon living things in the natural world including humankind, the wastes need be stored until the amount of the radioactive rays is decreased and the final disposal thereof (for example, such as abandonment into the seas or burying under the ground) has been done. In this case, the radioactive wastes are received and stored within a storing container in order to prevent scattering of radioactive nuclide adhered to the surface of the radioactive wastes when it falls off and to prevent dispersion of small radioactive wastes.
However, when the container is filled with the solid wastes without modification, there are produced a number of clearances between the wastes within the container, as a consequence of which the quantity of the wastes capable of being filled into a vacant space of a predetermined volume of the container becomes small. Further, if the wastes are those which include many hollow portions therein such as pipes and filters and thus have a large apparent volume as compared to a volume of pure solid portions, the quantity capable of being filled into the container becomes small similarly to the previous case. This means an increase in the number of containers required when the wastes arising from the establishments as described above are filled into the containers and thus high costs result accordingly and in addition, the increase in the number of containers means the need of a large area where the containers are stored. Both the cases as described above are not desirable.
In view of the foregoing, the present inventor has conceived methods, one of which method comprises melting such wastes within a crucible of a high frequency induction furnace or an arc furnace, tilting the furnace body to transfer the molten wastes into a solidifying container for solidification, and transferring the solidified wastes into a storing container for storage. The other method comprises gripping the wastes by a gripper, irradiating plasma arcs towards the thus gripped wastes to consecutively melt them from a part thereof, dropping the molten wastes into the storing container until the container is filled, and storing the same.
However, the former method has a problem of requiring much labor during the operation. In the latter method, where a number of small wastes are treated, the method comprises gripping them one by one by a gripper to melt the wastes, removing a portion of the waste gripped by the gripper but not molten from the gripper, and gripping another waste, such steps being required to be performed repeatedly, thus posing a problem of requiring much labor. Also, where the wastes are collapsible in nature, there poses a problem of involving a difficulty in gripping them by a gripper. In addition, since these methods require much labor as described above, there is a possible danger that operators are increasingly injured by the radioactivity.
Accordingly, these methods have been difficult to put for practical use in actual working sites.